Industrialized paper making has an effect on the environment both upstream (where raw materials are acquired and processed) and downstream (waste-disposal impacts). Recycling paper reduces this impact. Today, 90% of paper pulp is made of wood. Paper production accounts for about 35% of felled trees, and represents 1.2% of the world's total economic output.
At Aztec Printing and Design, we are doing our part to lower the percentage of felled trees. Offcuts from every print job are recycled, averaging 5 to 10 tons a year. We have also donated waste paper (scrap paper), to local schools for art projects and writing material.
The majority of our in-house paper consists of 10-50% recycled content, and a few specialty 100% recycled papers. If you are interested, a wider variety of 100% recycled papers can be ordered to compliment your print order.
QUICK FACTS
• Every ton of paper that is recycled saves 17 trees.
• The energy we save when we recycle one glass bottle is enough to light a light bulb for four hours.
• A national recycling rate of 30% reduces greenhouse gas emissions as much as removing nearly 25 million cars from the road.
• Recycling prevents habitat destruction, loss of biodiversity, and soil erosion associated with logging and mining.
• Every bit of recycling makes a difference. For example, one year of recycling on just one college campus, Stanford University, saved the equivalent of 33,913 trees and the need for 636 tons of iron ore, coal, and limestone.